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The 20 Greatest Chicago Cubs of All-Time

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2021.

Eligibility for position players requires 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers require 75 games started, and relief pitchers require 150 innings pitched.

  1. Ron Santo
    • Age: 20 – 33
    • Years: 1960 – 1973
    • Position(s): 3B

    Ron Santo
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    72.1 128 2126 8979 7768 1109 2171 353 66 337 1290 35 1071 1271 .279 .365 .472 .837

  2. Ernie Banks
    • Age: 22 – 40
    • Years: 1953 – 1971
    • Position(s): 1B, SS, 3B

    Ernie Banks
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    67.8 118 2528 10395 9421 1305 2583 407 90 512 1636 50 763 1236 .274 .328 .499 .828

  3. Sammy Sosa
    • Age: 23 – 35
    • Years: 1992 – 2004
    • Position(s): RF, CF

    Sammy Sosa
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    58.8 134 1811 7898 6990 1245 1985 296 32 545 1414 181 798 1815 .284 .357 .569 .927

  4. Ryne Sandberg
    • Age: 22 – 34, 36 – 37
    • Years: 1982 – 1994, 1996 – 1997
    • Position(s): 2B, 3B

    Ryne Sandberg
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    68.1 115 2151 9276 8379 1316 2385 403 76 282 1061 344 761 1259 .285 .342 .451 .794

  5. Billy Williams
    • Age: 21 – 36
    • Years: 1959 – 1974
    • Position(s): LF, RF, 1B

    Billy Williams
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    61.8 134 2213 9504 8479 1306 2510 402 87 392 1353 86 911 934 .296 .364 .502 .866

  6. Ferguson Jenkins
    • Age: 23 – 30, 39 – 40
    • Years: 1966 – 1973, 1982 – 1983
    • Position(s): SP

    Fergie Jenkins
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    53.0 84 401 347 167 132 3.20 2673.2 154 29 6 1061 952 600 2038 18.7% 1.12

  7. Mordecai Brown
    • Age: 27 – 35, 39
    • Years: 1904 – 1912, 1916
    • Position(s): SP

    Mordecai Brown
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    48.0 64 346 241 188 86 1.80 2329 206 48 39 679 465 445 1043 10.3% 1.00

  8. Pete Alexander
    • Age: 31 – 39
    • Years: 1918 – 1926
    • Position(s): SP

    Pete Alexander
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    41.0 76 242 223 128 83 2.84 1884.1 159 24 10 717 595 268 614 8.0% 1.16

  9. Rick Reuschel
    • Age: 23 – 32, 34 – 35
    • Years: 1972 – 1981, 1983 – 1984
    • Position(s): SP

    Rick Reuschel
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    48.3 89 358 343 135 127 3.50 2290 65 17 3 1007 891 640 1367 14.1% 1.31

  10. Frank Chance
    • Age: 21 – 35
    • Years: 1898 – 1912
    • Position(s): 1B, C, RF

    Frank Chance
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    42.6 140 1101 4504 3785 699 1128 181 71 18 541 375 509 28 .298 .388 .397 .785

  11. Hack Wilson
    • Age: 26 – 31
    • Years: 1926 – 1931
    • Position(s): CF, LF

    Hack Wilson
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    31.0 153 850 3719 3154 652 1017 185 44 190 769 34 463 461 .322 .402 .589 .992

  12. Hippo Vaughn
    • Age: 25 – 33
    • Years: 1913 – 1921
    • Position(s): SP

    Hippo Vaughn
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    39.7 79 305 270 151 105 2.33 2216.1 177 35 4 789 575 621 1138 12.1% 1.17

  13. Bill Nicholson
    • Age: 24 – 33
    • Years: 1939 – 1948
    • Position(s): RF

    Bill Nicholson
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    38.1 135 1349 5614 4857 738 1323 245 53 205 833 26 696 684 .272 .367 .471 .838

  14. Stan Hack
    • Age: 22 – 37
    • Years: 1932 – 1947
    • Position(s): 3B

    Stan Hack
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    54.8 124 1938 8506 7278 1239 2193 363 81 57 642 165 1092 466 .301 .388 .396 .785

  15. Anthony Rizzo
    • Age: 22 – 31
    • Years: 2012 – 2021
    • Position(s): 1B

    Anthony Rizzo
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    36.7 131 1308 5639 4812 721 1311 276 20 242 784 62 624 871 .272 .372 .489 .861

  16. Billy Herman
    • Age: 21 – 31
    • Years: 1931 – 1941
    • Position(s): 2B

    Billy Herman
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    40.9 114 1344 6166 5532 875 1710 346 69 37 577 53 470 282 .309 .357 .416 .774

  17. Carlos Zambrano
    • Age: 20 – 30
    • Years: 2001 – 2011
    • Position(s): SP

    Carlos Zambrano
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO % WHIP
    37.7 83 319 282 125 81 3.60 1826.2 9 4 0 804 731 823 1542 19.8% 1.32

  18. Gabby Hartnett
    • Age: 21 – 39
    • Years: 1922 – 1940
    • Position(s): C

    Gabby Hartnett
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    55.9 127 1926 7132 6282 847 1867 391 64 231 1153 28 691 683 .297 .363 .490 .853

  19. Kris Bryant
    • Age: 23 – 29
    • Years: 2015 – 2021
    • Position(s): 3B

    Anthony Rizzo
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    27.6 135 833 3626 3100 564 865 191 19 160 465 38 420 862 .279 .378 .508 .886

  20. Mark Grace
    • Age: 24 – 36
    • Years: 1988 – 2000
    • Position(s): 1B

    Mark Grace
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    44.2 123 1910 8234 7156 1057 2201 456 43 148 1004 67 946 561 .308 .385 .445 .831

6 Comments »

  1. Cap Anson is an obvious omission. He still is the all-time Cubs leader in WAR, even if they were rarely called that during his tenure. Evers and Tinker may well belong on the list ahead of Nicholson. What about Clark Griffith who won 152 games for the Cubs in the 1890s? Maybe someday Sammy Sosa will be welcomed back into the fold. It is hard to choose with so many good players over 140+ seasons of baseball. But Anson, Hullbert, and Spalding created the major leagues for us.

    Like

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